Long Beach Living Wage Measure Scaled Back

Backers of a living wage ballot measure to benefit hospitality workers in Long Beach have scaled back their initiative to only include workers at the city’s largest hotels.

On Tuesday, Unite Here Local 11 and its community allies pulled their initial measure filed Feb. 23 and submitted a new measure, no longer requiring concession operators at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center and the Long Beach Municipal Airport to pay their workers at least $13 an hour.

The initiative would now only apply to the operators of the 16 hotels in Long Beach with more than 100 rooms.

To qualify the measure for the November citywide ballot, backers must submit about 20,000 valid signatures to the city clerk’s office by mid-May. If voters approve the measure in November, it would be the first living wage law to take effect in Long Beach.

Unlike living wage measures in Los Angeles, this initiative does not provide for a lower living wage level if the employer provides health insurance.

Opposition to the measure is expected from the Long Beach hotel industry and the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.